


just pieces of a puzzle to find where we stand

by cinderlily



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Meet-Cute, Non player AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-15 22:18:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7240717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderlily/pseuds/cinderlily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler knew, for sure, that he was having a pretty crappy day when his bike got hit by a door opening (seriously, why did people not LOOK) and he was about seventy-five percent sure he had a broken foot but he had to WAIT. Which, okay, he got, there were like actual cases that required more attention than a whacked out foot but he was in <i>pain</i> and exhausted. </p><p>And the topper to this cake was Beefcake Dad (well, what he called him in his head) who’d walked in about a half hour after him, sat down two seats away from him with the cutest freaking kid ever. It was like, cruel. The dude was awesome and hot and probably had an awesome and hot wife who didn’t appreciate him because he kept <i>apologizing</i> on the phone to her like she was going to kill him. </p><p> </p><p>AKA, The one where they meet in an ER in Dallas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just pieces of a puzzle to find where we stand

Tyler knew, for sure, that he was having a pretty crappy day when his bike got hit by a door opening (seriously, why did people not LOOK) and he was about seventy-five percent sure he had a broken foot but he had to WAIT. Which, okay, he got, there were like actual cases that required more attention than a whacked out foot but he was in _pain_ and exhausted. 

And the topper to this cake was Beefcake Dad (well, what he called him in his head) who’d walked in about a half hour after him, sat down two seats away from him with the cutest freaking kid ever. It was like, cruel. The dude was awesome and hot and probably had an awesome and hot wife who didn’t appreciate him because he kept _apologizing_ on the phone to her like she was going to kill him. 

“Jenny, listen, she’ll be fine,” he said over and over again. “The fever spiked, so I took her in… What’s her social?” 

So okay, he couldn’t blame his wife for being annoyed that her husband didn’t know his own daughter’s social security and like… her allergies. But it can be a lot and he seemed to be pretty stressed out. 

“Your foot hurt?” the little girl asked, curled up next to Beefcake Dad with a blanket and a little green dragon in her arms. 

“Yeah,” he said, noting that maybe he’d been staring a little too much if the kid noticed. “You don’t feel so good?” 

She nodded. “I want my momma.” 

Tyler nodded back solemnly. “Can I tell you a secret?” 

“Yes,” she said, her eyes completely wide. 

“I want my momma, too.” 

She giggled a little. “That’s silly. You’re big.” 

He scoffed. “Big people can want their mommas just as much as little kids.” 

“Really?” 

“Yup,” he said, and readjusted the ice pack they’d given him on his foot with a wince. “Moms are magic.” 

The little girl whimpered. He felt the need to do something more but knew that was bordering on creepy. Instead he decided to just distract her for a bit by making silly faces that got her to smile while her dad filled out the paperwork painfully slowly and turn it in. 

“Thanks,” Beefcake Dad said, after he’d sat back down. He swiped a hand through his hair and put his hand on the girl’s head to check her temp. He didn’t look so pleased. “I’m Jamie. This is Jessie.” 

_Jamie, Jessie and Jenny._ He was going to get cavities. 

“Tyler,” he smiled and offered his hand to be shaken. “Jessie and I were making friends.” 

“How long have you been here?” Beefcake… err Jamie said, looking around the busy room anxiously. 

“Forty five minutes,” Tyler frowned, but then gave Jamie an encouraging smile. “But they usually take the kids back quicker. There is a kid’s emergency rooms over on the other side.” 

“I don’t…” Jessie said and before Tyler could break eye contact with Jamie he felt a splatter of warmth on his shirt. He closed his eyes and thought of all the reasons why he wasn’t going to look down. 

“Oh shit, oh shit, I am so sorry, dude. Hold on,” Jamie got up and ran _away from the kid who just vomited_. 

Tyler had just enough experience with his sisters to look down at the little girl who had, miraculously, nothing on her self but was looking pretty close to a second round. He grabbed for the nearest trash bin and held it under her mouth just seconds before she puked into it. He caught sight of his shirt and wished he hadn’t. 

She seemed to stop just as Jamie came back with a freaking towel to wipe at Tyler ineffectively. Okay, so maybe he could side with non-known Jenny. 

“Jessica Blake?” The nurse came out, holding a chart. Jamie looked up and then back at Tyler. 

Tyler pointed at Jessica and then at the nurse. “Take her.” 

Jamie picked the little girl up, who looked pitiful and tiny in his big arms. He watched as she went and tried for one last silly face. She half smiled and he took it at as a success. 

He sat back and looked at his shirt. It was… yeah. He used the towel to get most of it but a few minutes later he was called back and given a gown and a huge bag to put the mess in. He was never more relieved for a flimsy as hell gown to wear. 

* 

An hour or so later he was being fitted for a boot and admittedly slightly high as a kite. It was a fracture in his foot, but also a hairline fracture in his ankle. He was going to be booted for a good six to eight weeks which sucked on a lot of levels. Not the least of which being that he very rarely used his car and was only half sure if even worked at the moment but also because he hated being inactive. 

It meant he wasn’t going the able to play street hockey for _the whole summer_. Damn it. 

There was a knock at the door and he was just hoping it wasn’t the nurse who had thought his arm was a pin cushion. 

“Come in,” he offered. 

The door opened and a sheepish looking Jamie walked in, holding a bag in one hand and a balloon in the other. The balloon said “GET WELL SOON” in bright letters and had a pretend band-aid on it. He couldn’t help but laugh. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Jamie handed him the balloon and then the bag. “I figured you wouldn’t want to go home in the other shirt.” 

He opened the bag and found a shirt that said, “Everything’s BETTER in Texas”. He sputtered. 

“I had to go to the gift shop. It was either that or New Dad, I figured this was probably preferable.” 

Tyler nodded, because yeah. That could have awkwardness written all over it if his mom ever found it. He tilted his head towards Jamie. 

“How’s the kid?” 

Jamie blinked at him blankly before jumping to answer. “Oh! Jess? She’s better. Just the flu. She has a tendency to get dehydrated pretty quickly so her mom likes to err on caution when she pukes more than a few times. My sister took her home, she’ll be fine.” 

Tyler quirked an eyebrow. “Why’d your sister take her home? Shouldn’t you be with your wife?” 

Jamie looked at him like he’d grown a second head and Tyler had to go back through the conversation for a second. Because yes, he’d been given some painkillers but they hadn’t been that strong and … no. Yeah. He was making sense. 

“Your daughter is sick man, this is sweet and all but you should … be with her?” 

Jamie let out a surprised laugh. “Oh, fuck. No. No, no, no.” 

“No _what_?” 

“That would be my niece, not my daughter. I was watching her while her mom took her brother out for a while. I can’t be with my wife. I don’t … have one?” 

Tyler almost asked him if that was a question but honestly even just knowing he wasn’t married off to someone felt almost as good as the painkillers. He put his head back. “That’s nice.” 

“You are … um. Okay?” 

“Broken foot, hairline fracture in my ankle. I am booted up for _forever_ ,” Tyler said, realizing he was whining about halfway through. “Sorry. Just annoyed.” 

“I’d be annoyed, too,” Jamie sighed. “You… um. You need a ride home?” 

“No I’ve got my…” Tyler’s eyebrows knitted together. Wait. He didn’t actually have his bike. His bike was currently somewhere he wasn’t really aware of and even if he did there was a zero chance he was going to be able to use it with his damn foot. “I can take an Uber.” 

“Drive with a total stranger?” Jamie’s nose scrunched up. 

Tyler couldn’t help but chuckle. “As opposed to you, who I’ve known for a whole ten minutes.” 

Jamie blushed a little bit. “Oh yeah. Um. Okay. You should. I mean. You can totally do that…” 

It took realizing that Jamie was about to make a hasty exit for Tyler to put together how little he wanted that to happen. “No! Wait! You are much better than an Uber driver. Ten out of ten. Just. Medicated. It might be a while? Is that okay?” 

“I’ve got nothing better to do,” Jamie said, but he was smiling and sounding happy. He grabbed a wheelie stool and sat down a foot or so away from Tyler. He pointed at the foot. “So, cool story or lame story?” 

Tyler groaned. “The lamest. I guess I’ll have to come up with something cool. At least maybe put myself on skates for it.” 

“Skates?” Jamie perked up. “Like… blades or ice skates?” 

Which brought them into a conversation about ice skates and hockey and then the fact that they both came from Canada (What are the odds?). Then he admitted the truth of the matter, how he was biking and an idiot opened his door and Jamie only laughed a little, followed by opening up about how he was really glad there was no way he had to deal with his niece for the rest of the night. He was apparently not great with bodily fluids. 

By the time the angry lady with the pointy sticks of death came back Tyler was almost happy enough to genuinely smile at her. It helped she brought more pain killers AND then took the port out of his hand. She gave him his sign out sheets and then looked Jamie up and down. 

“Are you taking your boyfriend home?” 

Jamie gaped. “No, I mean, we just… we’re not…” 

“He’s taking me home,” Tyler said. He was fairly sure saying that he’d just met the guy MIGHT make it so he had to call one of his totally undependable friends to come and get him and he was good without that. 

“Here is his prescription,” she said and handed him the sheet. “Get it filled immediately. He’s probably gonna get some aches and pains. I’d recommend IBUProfen in between. Try and stretch it.” 

Tyler almost laughed at how serious Jamie looked when for all intents and purposes he was being dropped off and that was it. He’d send Brownie for his pain meds later. Or maybe Jason when he got off work. 

Less than a half hour later they were in Jamie’s car, which smelled a little of puke but he didn’t ask, and outside of his apartment. (Second floor no elevator, go Team Seguin.) 

“Thanks for all of this, you really didn’t have to do any of this,” Tyler said, grabbing the paper work and going to open the door. “I owe you one? You ever need some subpar food and dancing, come to Daddy’s off the highway. Well. In a week or so. I doubt I’m going to be working soon.” 

That was one more on the item of lists of things he wasn’t going to think about at the moment. Work. 

“You work at _Daddy’s_?” 

He bristled a little. Strip clubs weren’t dirty… well. Some were. But you know, whatever. All g-d’s children or whatever. “Yeah. So?” 

“Nothing just… I’ve been… My brother’s friend is a bartender there… You know Jason?” 

“No shit, he’s my roommate. Who’s your brother?” 

“Jordie?” 

“Fucking bull… you’re JAMIE?” 

Jamie blushed. “That’s what I said when we met.” 

“Small fucking world,” Tyler smiled, hand opening the door handle. “Well, I’ll tell Demers you said hi… I guess.” 

The front door was opened and Jamie was at his side freaky fast, which turned out to be good because … well. He was not steady on his feet by half. 

“Knight in shining armor,” Tyler teased. 

“Dude, I’m not letting you walk across the parking lot to your apartment. Plus I need those scripts… I saw the Walgreens down the road. Do you have insurance?” 

“Wait… what?” Tyler said and took a tentative step forward with Jamie’s help. “You don’t seriously have to do all the shit the nurse told you to.” 

Jamie, who wasn’t looking at him, but rather at the feet in front of them. “Why wouldn’t I?” 

“Because you don’t know me?” Tyler suggested. 

Jamie walked for a little while, got them up onto the sidewalk and Tyler led him to the stairs which Jamie looked at like each step had personally offended his mother. Which is when he _swung_ Tyler up into his arms like it was nothing. And somewhere Tyler remembered that Jamie was a bouncer at a bar near their club and how had he never met this dude before? 

They made it all the way up the stairs before Tyler paused and looked at him. “You didn’t answer my question. Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me.” 

“Well, I could _want_ to get to know you,” Jamie said, and looked like it was kind of painful for him to say. His ears turned bright pink. Tyler couldn’t say if it was the painkillers or just the fact that he was freaking _hot as hell_ but it was crazy endearing. 

Tyler took his keys out of his pocket and opened the door and despite his mother’s voice in his head saying this was the stupidest thing he’d ever done (and he’d done some stupid shit) he handed over the script. He was too exhausted to fight it either way. Jamie made sure he had his foot up and got a pack of veggies (they had veggies?) out of his freezer to put ice. 

“I’ll be back in ten minutes… maybe twenty?” 

Tyler saluted him, and as soon as the door closed he reached for his phone. 

“ _Please tell me Jordie’s brother isn’t nuts._ ” he texted Jason. 

A minute later he got a phone call. “What the hell?” 

“Um, so I might have possibly ran into Jordie’s brother at the hospital,” Tyler started, telling an abbreviated tale of what happened. 

Once Jason’s laughter died down and he caught his breath he answered. “Jamie is intense but he isn’t a killer. Oh my fuck, dude. Jamie freaking Benn. Only you, Segs. Only you.”

“You are freaking helpful.” 

But his roommate had hung up. Freaking Demers. 

A minute later he got a text from a number he didn’t recognize that simply said, “ _Don’t mess with my brother, dude._ ” 

To which he responded, “ _Fuck you very much Jordie._ ” 

There was a knock on his door but Jamie opened it without waiting for a response. He had two bags that seemed a little too full for just meds. One was labeled the Mexican place he really liked, though, so he wouldn’t fight it. 

“Why did I get a text from my brother with just laughing emojis?” 

Tyler shrugged. “No idea… is that Frederico’s?” 

“Yeah… The finals are on tonight? Please say you don’t like the Sharks,” Jamie said. 

“Come on, two-headed monster? Of course I’m going for the Pens…” 

The day ended up being not nearly as crappy as he’d expected. 

(He threw out the shirt from earlier. He kept the shirt Jamie bought for him AND wore it on their first real date a few weeks later. It made Jamie smile, even if the restaurant definitely warranted something nicer.)

**Author's Note:**

> I should be writing more of the actual fic that I am 90% done with but I still have a fever and nothing will come out so here, have more fluff. <3 
> 
> Lyrics from Phillip Phillips- Tell Me a Story 
> 
> " _Tell me a story long and true_  
>  _We aren't what we say_  
>  _We are what we do_  
>  _Just pieces of a puzzle to find where we stand just confused_  
>  _So you are the moon that pulls me through the night_ "


End file.
